“Lots of us are willing to put in a bit of extra time when it’s needed. But it’s a problem if it happens all the time. So today we’re saying to workers in the North West, make sure you take a proper lunch break and go home on time.

“We’re asking managers to leave on time too. Good bosses know that a long-hours culture doesn’t get good results. And the best way to lead is by example.

“If you’re worried about the long-hours culture where you work, get together with workmates and join a union. That’s the best way to get your voice heard, and stop your boss breaking the rules.”

The TUC analysis also found that while public sector employees make up a quarter (25%) of all employees, they account for more than a third (39%) of all unpaid overtime.

Lynn Collins added:

“Public sector workers are more likely to work extra hours unpaid. It’s a mark of how dedicated our public servants are – and it’s kept our schools and hospitals in the North West running through years of funding cuts.

“But public service workers have also had eight years of real pay cuts, so they are being forced to do more for less. It’s time the government gave them the fully-funded pay rise they have earned.”

Gender: The TUC study reveals that men work just over 1.1 billion unpaid overtime hours a year (1,127 million hours), compared to just under 1.0 billion hours for women (951 million hours). Around one in five (19.5%) men work unpaid overtime, averaging 8.5 hours per week. A similar percentage of women (19.7%) also put in unpaid hours. Even though women are more likely than men to work part-time the average for those undertaking unpaid overtime is still 6.9 hours a week.

Public sector: Public sector workers contributed £12.2 billion of unpaid overtime last year. Public sector employees make up a quarter (25.2%) of total employees but produce more than a third (39.3%) of all unpaid overtime.

Occupations: Looked at on an individual basis, chief executives work the most unpaid hours on average each week (14.1 hours). They are closely followed by teachers and education professionals (12.5 hours per week), followed by legal professionals (9.6 hours), production managers (9.5 hours), functional managers such as financial, marketing, and personnel managers (8.8 hours) and transport and logistics managers, welfare professionals and hospitality and leisure managers (all 8.6 hours).

Regions: Employers in London rely most on free work, with 1 in 4 workers (24.8%) doing unpaid overtime, compared to the national average of one in five (18.4%). Employees in London worked a total of 347 million free hours last year. The South East follows close behind, with 23.1% working unpaid overtime, whilst 20.6% in the Eastern Region and 20.4% in the South West are working free hours. However, the 365,000 unpaid overtime workers in the West Midlands have edged ahead when it comes to most unpaid hours each (7.8 hours per week, compared to the national average of 7.4 hours). London, the North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, East Midlands and the North West are all close behind, with unpaid overtime workers averaging 7.6 free hours per week.

Age: People in their 40s are most likely to do unpaid overtime, with more (23.4%) in this age group putting in unpaid hours compared to an average of less than one in five (18.4%) for all UK workers.

- The Trades Union Congress (TUC) exists to make the working world a better place for everyone. We bring together more than 5.5 million working people who make up our 49 member unions. We support unions to grow and thrive, and we stand up for everyone who works for a living.